Broken
by HopeCoppice
Summary: Somebody broke the truce. Vlad is unimpressed.
1. Chapter 1

**For redrachxo: here is the beginning of a fic I wrote for ya. Hopefully Vlad is sufficiently nasty.**

**As usual, I own nothing and I am making no profit here. Enjoy, y'all!  
**

It was as if they'd been trying to make a statement; the body had been left, completely drained, kneeling before Vlad's throne, head resting on the seat. Vlad stared at it for about twenty seconds, then went to the door and called for Renfield.  
"I need every vampire in the school here, now."

By the time the first vampire arrived, two minutes later, Vlad was sitting on the throne as if nothing had happened, the drained breather tucked away behind it. The Count and Ingrid arrived together, bickering about whether Ingrid should have been in the Blood Cellar at all, let alone helping herself to the vintage Marquise she was currently sipping at. The Count, Vlad noted, seemed to have poured one for himself too before answering his son's summons. Ingrid raised an eyebrow at her brother.  
"You never sit on your throne, what's going on?"

Bertrand came in through the door on the right of the throne and his eyes widened before he frowned and came to stand with the Count and Ingrid, recognising the formality of the situation. Vlad missed nothing of his household's reactions, eyes following Bertrand until he took his place and Vlad was sure they were all giving their ruler their full attention.  
"I have reason to believe that somebody in this room has broken the Truce." Ingrid's face was a picture of shock. Bertrand didn't move a muscle, betraying not a hint of surprise.

The Count seemed offended by the idea.  
"Who would do such a thing, Vladdy?" He glanced at his daughter, but she was already looking past him with a knowing smirk. He turned his head to follow her gaze, and suddenly all three Draculas were staring at Bertrand. He soon became aware of it, and his frown deepened.  
"You don't think-" He cut himself off, staring in shock at the fangcuffs Vlad had just snapped onto his wrists.  
"Ingrid, Dad, you can lock him in the attic while I investigate further." Neither of the older Draculas seemed to feel this was too onerous a task for them – in fact, they almost seemed pleased, especially Ingrid. She did like being reminded that she was his number two and trusted to do things like this; it reassured her that he didn't intend to automatically blame her for everything that went wrong.

Bertrand had failed both the tests Vlad had set for his household – the Chosen One had turned in his seat in time to notice his shocked expression at the sight of him sitting on his throne as if nothing had happened, and then he hadn't even bothered to feign shock when he'd announced that the Truce had been broken. It was obvious who was to blame. Now he just had to work out what to do about it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2. I still own nothing. There are 2 more chapters after this. Enjoy!**

Bertrand sat quietly in the attic, waiting to be released. There was no way Vlad was really going to punish him for breaking the Truce. He would just wait until the Chosen One saw sense, and then he would go about his business as usual. There was no reason to be alarmed; hadn't he survived the Sethius incident unscarred? Everything would be fine, once Vlad had had time to think it through calmly.

* * *

"Erin, can you get hold of Jonno Van Helsing for me? Last time I rang the Slayers' Guild it took me half an hour just to get past the receptionist's ranting. Don't talk to anyone but Jonno – or Mina if he's not there – just get him here." Erin looked up from her book, surprised.  
"Will do. What's happening?" He sighed.  
"Don't tell anyone this over the phone, not even if you've got some kind of top-secret slayer code going... but Bertrand's broken the Truce. I'm keeping it quiet for now, but we can't do that indefinitely, and I need to renegotiate with the Guild. Jonno's our best chance."  
"Bertrand attacked-?"  
"Killed a breather, yes. It looks that way." Erin was already dialing the number, but she paused before pressing the 'call' button on the mobile the Count still didn't know she had.  
"What's going to happen to him?" Vlad turned to walk away.  
"Just call Jonno."

* * *

"What are you going to do with him, then?" Ingrid didn't even wait for him to get all the way into the room before she asked the question. Vlad glanced upwards instinctively, then shrugged.  
"Nothing, until Jonno arrives." The Count rolled his eyes.  
"I _told _you, you should have staked the traitor after the Sethius debacle. Renfield's disposing of the body." Vlad glared at him.  
"And I told you I needed to investigate! I'll have to stop him." He shot out of the room.

An hour later, Vlad was forced to concede that he wasn't exactly vampire CSI, and let Renfield finish the task he'd started. Jonno was at the door, at any rate, and it was time to face the music. He led Jonno up to the lounge, irritated by his family's refusal to leave them to it, and plainly stated the facts.  
"The Truce has been broken." Jonno's hand went to his belt, but Vlad held up his own hand to stop him. "I've got the vampire responsible, and Renfield's buried the breather. But we need to renew the Truce before things get out of hand." Jonno sighed, the weight of the world on his shoulders once again.  
"You're sure you've got the one who did it? Where did you find the body?" Vlad opened his mouth to answer, then turned to his father with a quizzical expression.

"Where _did_ you find the body, Dad?" The Count shrugged.  
"Ingrid found it behind the throne." Jonno stared at Vlad, aghast.  
"This happened in your own house?" Vlad gave him a Look, the kind of Look that definitely came with its own capital L and meant _I've had a hard day don't start in on me_, and the slayer sighed. "Fine, let's go and sort out this vampire, shall we?" The Chosen One could feel his sister's eyes on him, but he didn't falter for a moment.  
"I assume you're going to want the culprit staked?" Jonno shrugged uncomfortably.  
"It'll make it much more likely the Guild will keep to their side of the Truce-"  
"Fine. Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

**I still own nothing.**

Bertrand looked up as Vlad walked in, expecting him to let him out. Knowing Vlad, he'd even get an apology. Instead he saw only the furious, bitterly disappointed face of the Grand High Vampire, and barely a step behind him, the Guild's most promising slayer.  
"Vlad?" The younger vampire ignored him, but he did turn to Jonno as the slayer spoke too.  
"Your tutor? Are you sure about this?" Vlad barely hesitated before nodding firmly.  
"I've got to make it clear that nobody breaks the Truce. There can't be one rule for him and one for everyone else." Jonno still hesitated and Vlad rolled his eyes. "Do you want to do it, or are you going to stop fussing and give me the stake?"

Bertrand's eyes widened in horror and he started trying to calculate his best chance of escape. The door was open, but he'd have to go through an armed slayer to get to it, not to mention that he would have to get past Vlad, the Chosen One, the very vampire who knew all his tricks. He was doomed.

"I just don't want to get the wrong guy. You live with him, if we stake him for no reason _you_ might break the Truce." The slayer turned as Ingrid settled in the doorway, apparently anticipating the show.  
"Of course it was Bertrand. Who else thinks breathers should kneel before _you_?"Jonno nodded, drawing his stake, and Vlad stepped forward to hold Bertrand still as he tried to back away.  
"I didn't touch him, I wouldn't break the Truce. Whoever did is still out there, you need to-"  
"Wait. What?" Vlad's grip on his arms was unbearably tight, and it only tightened as Bertrand began to speak again.  
"I didn't-"  
"Not you." The Chosen One had wheeled them round so that he was between Bertrand and Jonno, who at any rate was no longer advancing, waiting to see what Vlad was doing. "Ingrid. What did you say?" She rolled her eyes.  
"Just that it seems like the kind of symbolism Bertrand would appreciate."  
"You're right, Ingrid." Vlad released his vice-like grip on Bertrand's arms and turned to his sister. "But I never mentioned kneeling."

Her eyes widened slightly, but she shrugged it off.  
"Bertrand told me when we brought him up here." Vlad narrowed his eyes at her.  
"Bertrand would never have told you anything that would get him in more trouble." He whirled back around to face off with his tutor. "Did you two work together?"  
"I never broke the-"  
"Then why were you so surprised to see me on the throne, if not because you'd left a body on it?" Bertrand turned to face him, now that he'd released his arms.  
"I was surprised to see a dead breather behind it!"

Of course – Bertrand had come into the throne room through the back door, the one behind the throne. He would have seen the body the moment he stepped into the room. But-  
"You weren't surprised when I said the Truce had been broken."  
"I'd already seen the body; how else would it have got there?" Vlad frowned.  
"Then Ingrid-" When the Chosen One turned back to the doorway, there was no sign of his sister. "Oh, blood and garlic."


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, here's the last bit. I still don't own anything. Hope you enjoy it!**

Of course, it being the middle of the day, Ingrid hadn't gone far. She was in her coffin room, collecting a few trinkets; it should have been the last place they'd have expected her to be. Unfortunately, Vlad reacted to her disappearance as if she was having a tantrum, as opposed to fleeing for her unlife, and barely a few minutes passed before he was standing in her doorway.  
"Ingrid, why did you do it?" She shrugged.  
"I was hungry, he was there."  
"And framing Bertrand?"  
"I was in trouble, he was there. Besides, I owed him for the time he framed me for trying to kill Erin." Vlad glared at her and she shrugged. "Won't happen again, we're even now. So, are you going to stake me?"

Vlad took a moment to think about it, aware of Bertrand and Jonno moving along the corridor behind him, coming from different directions.  
"No." Jonno seemed unsurprised, but Bertrand's voice reached his ears.  
"You're not?" The Chosen One heaved a sigh and turned back towards him. He knew this would be hard for his tutor to hear, given that he himself had almost been reduced to dust for the crime.  
"No. She's family." His tutor looked as if he was going to say something, but he just closed his eyes and nodded, accepting the injustice of it all.  
"What happens to me, then? And the Truce?" Vlad glanced at Jonno as he answered, hoping the Guild would accept that his hands were tied.  
"You're not to leave the school for a month. Bite anyone again, Ingrid, and I won't be able to stop them slaying you." Jonno sighed.  
"It'll do, I suppose. I'll sign again on the Guild's behalf."

* * *

When everything was sorted to both sides' satisfaction, Jonno set off back towards Guild Headquarters and Ingrid settled into her coffin to sulk. Bertrand found Vlad slumped in his throne.  
"We had a training session scheduled tonight." The Chosen One looked up with a start.  
"Oh. Yeah. Didn't think you'd want to." He grimaced. "Although I guess beating me up through sparring is probably exactly what you want to do."  
"Not at all. I understand. Family is different." At least, Bertrand had often been told so, usually just before he had to reduce a clan to dust.  
"I should have known it would be Ingrid."  
"She's clever."  
"I should have trusted you." Bertrand hesitated for a moment, but then he simply inclined his head in a slight bow and turned towards the door.  
"I'll expect you in the training room in five minutes." He ignored the melodramatic groan from behind him. He had no intention of going easy on the boy tonight.


End file.
